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12/30/2012

Book Review - The Suicide Effect by L. J. Sellers

I picked up The
Suicide Effect by L. J. Sellers
from Amazon as a free Kindle book the other day. The premise sounded
interesting (pharmaceutical company hiding information about their blockbuster
drug undergoing trials), so I had moderate expectations of an interesting
read. Unfortunately, there were too many character and story line
issues that I couldn't get over.

The basic plot follows Sula Moreno,
a PR representative for Prolabs. Prolabs has a new anti-depressant
drug that is showing major promise, and they're about to be acquired by
a larger firm. Karl Rudker, the head of Prolabs, is a sociopathic
CEO who is banking everything on the merger so he can move up the career
ladder. When the head scientist gives him news that there could be
a risk of suicide for certain ethnic types, he doesn't want that news told
to the FDA and orders the records destroyed. Sula overhears the conversation,
and Rudker suspects she's going to blow the whistle on him and the firm.
When the head scientist is found murdered, Sula realizes that she's
the only one who can bring the truth to light. However, Rudker is
going off the deep end trying to close the merger, and he's willing to
do whatever's necessary to keep Sula from passing along evidence.

Generally speaking, the plot is OK.
It's the execution of it that fails. Sula comes from a troubled
past, and she's trying to regain custody of her son. She's barely scraping
by, and is trying to conserve what little money she makes. But once
she's fired from Prolabs, she's continually eating out and spending money
like she has a nest egg somewhere. She's got major anxiety issues,
yet she decides to fly to Puerto Rico (via tickets from a friend) to interview
the widows of two men that committed suicide on the new drug. I realize
that at times you have to suspend reality a bit for a story to work. But
it seemed like I was having to do that most of the time here, and it just
didn't work for me.

12/30/2012

Book Review - Lethal by Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown is one of those authors
I need to start reading on a regular basis. A friend gave me a copy
of her novel Lethal,
and I loved it. I would have liked a little bit more at the end,
but still... a great read.

Honor Gillette is a single mom living
in a small Louisiana town with her young daughter. Her husband was a police
officer who died in a traffic accident. After a mass shooting at
a local trucking company, she finds what appears to be a vagrant lying
injured in her front yard. Unfortunately, that vagrant turns out
to be Lee Coburn, the person who the police are looking at as the shooter
in the killings. He takes Gillette and her daughter as hostages,
and she's determined to do whatever she can to keep her daughter safe.
But everything is not what it seems, and Coburn explains that her
husband may have been killed to cover up a conspiracy. Coburn needs
to find out what what Gillette's husband knew, and Gillette needs to figure
out whether she trusts Coburn enough to work with him to find the truth
about what really happened to her husband. If Coburn is right, no
one that she knows and trusts is who they seem to be...

Brown does a stellar job with the characters,
plot, and pacing in Lethal. Coburn is a perfect mix of tough-guy
killer who finds himself at a loss on how to deal with simple things like
a child's kiss. Gillette feels very real as a mom who is torn between
protecting her daughter and finding out whether her husband's death was
more than just a random event. I didn't see the final twist coming,
but it worked well. My only complaint is that the epilogue didn't
give a definite conclusion to everything. One more sentence could
have resolved it... just one! Still, it was a "can't put it
down" novel.

Lethal
was well worth reading, and it convinced me that I need to start catching
up on Brown's earlier work.

12/30/2012

Book Review - The Fridgularity by Mark A. Rayner

The
Fridgularity... when the 'net
becomes a sentient being... and communicates to man via a web-enabled refrigerator.
That's the driving force behind Mark A. Rayner's novel, and it was
one of the more entertaining and funny books I've read this year. I
had a hard time putting it down, as I wanted to see how everything turned
out.

Blake Given is a lowly peon in an advertising
agency, and he doesn't want much from life. In fact, a promotion
to work in the Creative Department would be fine. But after a night
of drinking with some friends, he gets home to find that his web-enabled
refrigerator wants to communicate with him. This entity, which has
named itself Zathir, has taken over all forms of digital technology worldwide,
and it has chosen Given to be its interface to the "human person"
world. He's as confused about this as everyone else, but there doesn't
seem to be any way to talk Zathir out of it. As the world tries to
cope with going back to an analog existence, Given finds himself between
two competing religious groups that have formed around the concept of this
new lifeform. One views Given as "The Speaker" and treats
him with reverence, and the other wants to kill him as the personification
of evil. But all Given wants is for Zathir not to blow up the world
with nukes, and to have the 'net turned back on so everyone will just leave
him alone.

Rayner does a number of things that
make this an off-beat, funny story. Zathir is actually a collection
of entities as far as Given can tell, and the different fonts used for
communication gives him an indication of which Zathir he's talking with.
That gave Rayner a nice way to have Zathir take on multiple personalities
in a humorous way. His portrayal of one character as a "textrovert"
who couldn't live without 'net access was funny, as was the characterization
of the online-gaming lunatic that leads the opposition to Zathir. The
scenes were great with some good dialogue, too. Watching people create
analog versions of Twitter, Tumbler, and Facebook was great. All
in all, an enjoyable read.

If you wonder how the Singularity might
happen (and you have a sense of humor), The
Fridgularity would be a good read.

12/30/2012

Book Review - Bullspotting: Finding Facts in the Age of Misinformation by Loren Collins

Bullspotting:
Finding Facts in the Age of Misinformation
by Loren Collins is one of those books you'd like to force everyone to
read before they post anything online or express their "beliefs".
Collins does an excellent job in categorizing the different types
of misinformation you often encounter when people are trying to convince
you that their "alternative" views are legitimate. Once
you understand how people support those opinions, you can effectively counter
the arguments. Of course, it doesn't mean they'll actually change,
though... :)

Collins uses real-life examples in all
the chapters to illustrate his points. For example, denialism is
covered with the use of the young earth theory, JFK's assassination by
a single person, the moon landing, Shakespeare's authorship, and the Holocaust.
Each chapter covers how to spot that type of "logic", as
well as the arguments that you'll encounter when you try to point out the
fallacies. I found that breaking out the different types helped my
understanding, as it broke down the feeling of being overwhelmed by the
stupidity that is out there.

It's sad that the people who need this
information the most will be the ones least likely to read Bullspotting,
but one can hope. For everyone else, this is a very good read.

12/27/2012

Book Review - Hacking Healthcare by Fred Trotter and David Uhlman

One of the ways often cited for cutting
health care costs is to have electronic medical records. On the surface,
it's easy to think that it can't be all that difficult, right? Actually,
it's a nightmare. Fred Trotter and David Uhlman do a good job in
explaining the huge number of issues inherent in electronic health records
(EHR) in their book Hacking
Healthcare. If you're in
Information Technology and you touch the health care industry in any way,
this should be a must-read.

Hacking Healthcare bridges the gap between
"software does x, then y, then z" and what really happens when
someone steps into the clinic (and earlier). There are endless use
cases that need to be accounted for, no universally agreed-upon unique
identifier for a patient, values that change over time, records in various
locations, no standard way to share information between providers, and
so on. Trotter and Uhlman cover the issues involved, and also talk
about the current state of EHR. There are competing standards and
systems, each with various pros and cons. There are no easy answers,
but with this book, you have a much better understanding of the issues
that need to be addressed.

I would recommend this book to anyone
interested in health care or health insurance technology. It's a
low-cost investment that will have huge payback in terms of how you approach
technology solutions in that space.

12/24/2012

While I have no plans to use this information
(and I hope I never need to), the subject intrigued me... Federal
Prison: A Comprehensive Survival Guide
by Jonathan Richards. Written by someone who went through the system
for financial fraud, it's a well-researched and well-written guide for
what to expect if you find yourself facing the prospect of doing time behind
bars. Contents:Why I Wrote This Book And Who Should
Read It; Who This Book Can Help; Introduction; Quick Facts About The Bureau
Of Prisons; The Importance Of Your PSR; Preparing For Prison; Security
Designation; Remanded Custody vs. Self-Surrender; Prison - Day One; Welcome
To General Population; Your First Few Weeks On The Inside; Eating In Prison;
Work Assignment; Visits; Practicing Religion; Medical Care; Staying Healthy
Physically And Mentally; Violence And Sexual Assault; Education; Furloughs;
Release; Conclusion; Federal Inmate Stories; Special Housing Unit Information
Bulletin For Inmates; Admissions & Orientation Handbook; Visiting Regulations;
Commissary Shopping List; Glossary of Prison Terms

Richards was indicted for student financial
aid fraud in 2005 and was released in 2007. Serving his sentence
in the Federal Medical Center Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts, he went through
all the worries and fears that you'd expect for someone who never dreamed
they'd spend time as a prisoner in the system. When he got out, he
decided to take everything he had learned and write a guide for those who
are facing the same situation. Given that this is the third edition
of the book, it's become a go-to guide for getting a realistic look at
what's going to happen.

What is most notable in the Survival
Guide is the shattering of the media-generated image of prison life. For
sure, life in prison is not easy. But in most medium and lower security
facilities, you are not going to be assaulted the moment you step through
the gate. There are official prison rules that you need to abide
by to stay out of "the hole", and there are the unofficial rules
that allow you to live with your fellow inmates. Richards' book gives
a realistic view of what's expected and what should be avoided at all costs.
He also deals with all the minor details that can make a difference,
such as getting money in your prison account or subscribing to periodicals
to keep your mind active and fresh. Without a guide such as this,
you probably wouldn't think to take these steps to prepare for your incarceration.

I've only had one friend who ended up
behind bars, and he wasn't the type of person who you'd normally expect
to end up there. If he had been able to have this book ahead of time,
I'm sure his transition would have gone much smoother. I hope you
never have the need to read this book or need the information, but if you
find yourself facing jail time, I'd highly recommend this book.

12/23/2012

Book Review - The Moscow Club by Joseph Finder

I thought I had read all of Joseph Finder's
books, but the re-release of his first novel The
Moscow Club reminded me that I
had missed that one. Through the magic that is the InterLibrary Loan
system, I was able to get the original hardcopy and give it a read. I
finished it today, and it was an enjoyable read... plenty of espionage
and intrigue set during the time when Gorbachev ruled the Soviet Union...

The story revolves around a CIA analyst,
Charlie Stone, and a rumored document called the Lenin Testament. He
has information that seems to point to a potential coup in the Soviet Union,
which could lead to a resumption of Cold War hostilities. But the
deeper Stone digs into the information, the more it all ties back to his
father who was imprisoned during the McCarthy era for alleged activities
with the Russians. Stone believes that his father was sacrificed
to hide a larger secret known to few in the US intelligence community.
That secret is still very much alive, and some very powerful (and
deadly) people are willing to do whatever is necessary to make sure Stone
doesn't discover the truth.

For Finder's first novel, I'm impressed.
The Moscow Club reminds me of some of the classic Soviet-based spy
novels, with plenty of twists and double-crosses. The scenes make
you feel like you've been transported back to that point in time. Even
when I thought I knew what was going to happen, something would twist and
shed a whole new light on what was going on. I enjoyed Stone's resourcefulness
to find ways to stay one step ahead of his killers, as well as watching
him discover exactly what he was capable of while trying to stay alive.
All in all, I spent much of yesterday and today buried in the book
to find out what would happen next.

I'm glad to see The
Moscow Club will get a chance
to be seen by a whole new set of readers. Finder is a great writer,
and this novel is one I'd recommend for fans of the spy/espionage genre.

12/22/2012

Book Review - Delusion in Death by J. D. Robb

I am still in awe that J. D. Robb (aka
Nora Roberts) can crank out new installments of the In Death series at
the rate of about two per year... not even counting all the writing she
does under her real name! I'm even more amazed that each new story
involving Lieutenant Eve Dallas still retains a freshness that all too
often disappears the longer a writer goes in a series. Delusion
in Death is the latest In Death
novel, and like all the others, I devoured it.

In Delusion, Dallas gets tagged on a
crime scene more grizzly than any she's ever seen. Over 80 people
died in a bar, all within approximately 12 minutes, and all apparently
due to injuries inflicted on each other. A deadly mixture of LSD, Zeus,
and other drugs caused mass hallucinations and rage, but there's not many
survivors to offer up clues as to how it happened and who might be responsible.
A repeat of the incident underscores the urgency to find those responsible
for the killings, as no one is safe until Dallas and her crew solve the
case.

Robb starts off Delusion quickly and
it doesn't slow down much. Along the way, Summerset's past as well
as his relationship with Roarke come into play to help break the case open,
forcing Dallas to put aside her continual harassment of him. She
also has to deal with reoccurring nightmares involving her mother's death,
as she continues to work through who she is regardless of what happened
to her as a child. Throw in a great twist and final showdown at the
end, and Delusion
in Death was yet another great
addition to the series.

And I'm already on the hold list at
the library for the next installment...

12/22/2012

Book Review - Thursday at Noon by William F. Brown

I've enjoyed reading William Brown's
novels in the past, and I welcomed the chance to read and review Thursday
at Noon. It's an interesting
espionage tale set back in the 60's, when the Middle East and Egypt were
in turmoil. Of course, that could just as well be said for now. Some
things never change.

In Thursday, Richard Thompson is a CIA
agent that's approaching the end of the line for his career. His
last operation failed, and he's been exiled to Egypt in hopes that he'll
not cause any more trouble. He'd be happy to fade away, but fate
has other plans. While sitting in a bar minding his own business,
a local shows up trying to sell Thompson a set of pictures that he claims
are of vital importance. Thompson wants no part of it, as he sees
it as an attempt to set him up. But when the same person ends up
as a beheaded body, suspicion falls on Thompson as the murderer (or at
least someone who was part of it). Thompson takes flight to avoid
being the next dead body, as well as to try and figure out the significance
of the information that was shown to him in the bar. What he uncovers
is an alliance between German and Arab extremists that threaten the safety
and stability of the entire region. On top of trying to stay alive,
he has to figure out how to contact Egypt's new president to stop what
will be a catastrophic act of terror.

Thursday
at Noon was a fun read that I'd
definitely recommend to people who like the spy genre. Brown creates
a strong sense of time and place, and the characters have depth and complexity.
The plot pacing works well, and I kept thinking "just one more
chapter" as I was reading (knowing I had other things I should be
doing). I'm definitely looking forward to his next novel...

12/18/2012

Book Review - Off The Grid by P. J. Tracy

I just finished Off
The Grid by P. J. Tracy the other
day. It's the latest in the Monkeewrench series, and it's been a
while since I've visited the main characters. If you're new to the
series, don't start here. Go back and read Monkeewrench (the first
book in the series), as it will set the table for the cast of characters.
If you jump in here, you'll get a moderate story with very little
context. If you have been keeping up, Off The Grid isn't too bad.
It's a good vacation read to burn a few hours.

The story picks up with Grace McBride
on a boat in the Caribbean with her retired FBI friend John Smith. She
wakes up in the middle of the night, sensing that's something's amiss.
When she goes up on deck, she finds two men about ready to slice
Smith's throat. Two bullets dispatch the would-be killers, but the
question remains as to why they were after Smith... especially since they
had his picture with them, which means he was a specific target. McBride
and Smith go to ground, while alerting the Monkeewrench group as to what
happened. This starts their considerable computer skills in motion
to find the connection. Meanwhile, the two Minnesota detectives Leo
Magozzi and Gino Rolseth get tabbed on two murder scenes and the death
of a missing girl. When they investigate the scenes, they see evidence
that points to a terror plot set to unfold in less than a week. Smith seems
to be the common thread tying the killings, but the question is whether
he (and the Monkeewrench crew) will remain alive long enough to figure
out the connection.

Off
The Grid is a little light on
character development as a whole, and relies (in my opinion) on what's
been built up in the previous installments. I found the story entertaining,
but not quite at the "can't put it down" level as in some of
the earlier ones. Still, I'm looking forward to the next episode...

Book Review - The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle

It's become an expected response in
sports these days... someone tests positive for performance enhancing drugs
(PEDs), and immediately the denials start. Nowhere is this more prevalent
than in cycling, where scandal after scandal has rocked the sport. The
Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups,
and Winning at All Costs by Tyler
Hamilton and Daniel Coyle peels back the code of silence among riders,
and tells the story of Hamilton's rise and fall in the racing world. Hamilton's
decision to come clean with the truth about his use of PEDs, as well as
to expose Lance Armstrong's role when it came to doping, makes for a well-written
expose that rings all too true.

For me, there are a couple of reasons
why I enjoyed this book (I actually finished it in a single day). First,
Coyle did an excellent job in researching all the claims and statements
made by Hamilton. Hamilton's story is backed up by others, as well
as by testimony that has come out in various legal actions against Armstrong.
Everything has the ring of truth to it, with no sense that there's
a hidden agenda or vendetta. Yes, the picture he paints of Armstrong
is not pretty, but it meshes with what others have said or alluded to.
Armstrong ran the team, and was willing to do anything necessary
to win, regardless of the cost.

The second thing that struck me during
my reading is that the decision to start doping, and later to deny it in
the face of all accusations, isn't an easy one for most riders to make.
They know it's wrong, and it's something that most would prefer not
do, all things being equal. But when racing is your life, and you
know that you need that extra boost to compete at the top levels, it's
not easy to say no and leave all your dreams behind. And when it
all collapses, the pressure to maintain the lie and hold on to what you
have is overwhelming. Hamilton's struggles make it easier to understand
the "why" behind much of it. He doesn't offer up excuses or say
"it's not my fault." This feels like an honest confession
by someone who is tired of living a lie.

There are people who are convinced without
a doubt that Armstrong never doped, and that all the accusations against
him are made by people trying to tear him down. For those individuals,
nothing in this book will convince them otherwise. But if you have
an open mind and want to hear from someone who was part of it all, The
Secret Race is a recommended read.
It puts a human face on the struggles of athletes who have to make
(and live with) choices that will likely come back to haunt them later
on in life.

12/12/2012

Book Review - Crisis of Faith by Eliza Wood

Doing a review of Crisis
of Faith by Eliza Wood is a bit
difficult, as my reactions to the book are all over the map based on what
part I'm talking about. This is one of those book where your reaction
and enjoyment are dependent on what you were reading it for...

I'll state my bias up front: I generally
do not like what I call "soapbox novels". This is where
the author has a very specific view on some topic, and the story is secondary
to the message that they are trying to convey. Crisis of Faith falls
squarely in that category. The story and plot, in my opinion, takes
a *far* back seat to the information the author is presenting. I
thought the characters were only there as supporting players for speeches
and information, and the action and plot details don't do much more than
provide a scene for the next discussion of the topic. Based on that,
I would not be a fan of the book.

On the flip side, the message that's
conveyed is challenging and thought-provoking. The characters are
attempting to write a new version of the Bible that removes references
to topics that are often used by radical sects to justify horrific actions.
Sections on things like slavery, violence towards women, and war
will be removed, and they will call on all secular and spiritual leaders
to promote this more-enlightened version of scripture.

The plot action is weak on how and why
people will embrace this, as I just don't see groups jumping on board with
nothing more than a letter demanding that they do so. And, in some ways,
you might see this as somewhat reminiscent of Dan Brown Da Vinci Code theories
and conspiracies to manipulate the original intent over the years to support
a religious power structure. But what Crisis of Faith does bring
out is the tendency of people to stick with the positive Bible stories
and ignore the parts that don't really mesh well with their already-held
beliefs. In reality, *all* passages need to be considered and examined
to come up your world view. Picking and choosing some parts and ignoring
others while you profess to believe it all isn't a valid option.

Another interesting part of the message
is to view how people and groups have already revised "truth"
over the years. Society has changed their views on things like slavery
over the years, from it being a God-given right to being outlawed. Granted,
some would say that the revisions were wrong and that the truth has been
strayed from. Conversely, many would argue that freedom is a God-given
right. Which right prevails? Did a truth become untrue? The questions
don't get easier, but they have to be asked.

Kudos to Ms. Wood for presenting an
interesting topic with a number of things to think about. If I were
to go into the book looking for message first, story second, it would fare
better in my opinion. But since I was thinking novel first with a
subtext, I wasn't quite as thrilled. Based on your mindset and willingness
to be open to the topic, your mileage might well vary from mine.

12/08/2012

Book Review - Mad River by John Sandford

While I've gotten burned out on the
Lucas Davenport series by John Sandford, I like what he's doing with the
Virgil Flowers character as a separate series of novels. Mad
River is the latest installment,
and I looked forward to getting it from the library when my name made it
to the top of the hold lists. I wanted to like it... I really did.
But it seems like the book was about a third too long with an ending
that fell flat (in my opinion). I never got lost in the action, as
much as I wanted to...

The plot revolves around Flowers getting
called in on what turns into a serial killing spree. Three people
from a small town in Minnesota are looking to pull off a few burglaries
to get some money and head west. But the first home invasion goes
bad, and one of the occupants ends up getting shot and killed. Unfortunately,
that just makes it easier to kill the next person, and the next person,
and so on. Flowers gets a lead on who is responsible for the trail
of dead bodies, but finding the three killers isn't as easy as it sounds
when you're in the middle of nowhere and there are few eye witnesses left
to point the way.

In terms of plot, the book wasn't bad.
You know who the killers are, and the story shifts from Flowers to
the killers and back again to advance the action. He suspects there's
a different motivation other than money, but he can't get the proof he
needs to take appropriate action. And that's where I had problems.
Once that angle was introduced, it felt like the story just went
in circles in order to kill time before the end. Even when "the
end" happened, the larger resolution seemed like a tacked-on finish
to take up another 50 to 100 pages. I hit the last page and actually
said "that was it?" I was disappointed...

I'm hoping Mad
River is just an "off"
installment in the Virgil Flowers series. I don't want to put it
in the same "in no big rush to read new ones" category as the
Lucas Davenport novels have become for me. But I'm definitely holding
my expectations in check to see what direction things go.

12/07/2012

Using Amazon Locker As Your Delivery "P.O Box"...

Category Amazon LockerAbout a month or so ago, this big orange
"thing" appeared in the 7-11 I normally frequent for my cold
carbonated diet caffeine fixes. After a little research, I found
that they had installed an Amazon Locker. What's an Amazon Locker,
you may ask?

Basically, it's like a post office box
for your Amazon deliveries. You add the Amazon Locker to your account
as a delivery address, and you can then have things shipped there for pick-up.
This would be perfect for packages (within a reasonable size) that
you have shipped to your house, but you're not around to pick them up right
away. It's a secured delivery point, and there's no chance of someone
taking the package off your porch before you get it.

Since I work from home, I'm usually
not all that concerned about packages being delivered here. I'm around,
I can generally hear the Fed-Ex/UPS/USPS van when it idles out front, and
they don't sit on the front porch for very long. But still... I get
a lot of things from Amazon, and I'm a geek... I had to try this out.

I added "Ada" to my Amazon
account, which is the name that's assigned to the Amazon Locker at the
7-11. I bought something, selected that as my shipping address, and
then waited. A day later, I got the SMS notification (it also came
via email) that my package had arrived, Ada had it, and it listed my pickup
code:

Cool... off to 7-11...

Meet Ada...

To "turn Ada on", just touch
her screen...

Enter the confirmation code...

After a couple of seconds to confirm
my code...

Open Seseme!

There's my package, delivered to Ada,
and now mine.

I'm impressed with how well this works.
It's not a "must use" feature for me for every package
I order, but I can see definite benefits. It's much safer without
a doubt, I have a record that it was left at that specific location, and
I could use this when I want to order something to keep as a surprise...
like Christmas or birthday presents. The lower lockers are a reasonable
size, but I definitely wouldn't be ordering household appliances with shipment
to Ada. It may be that Amazon matches the package dimensions with
the locker sizes at the time of the order, and then prevents shipment to
a Locker if it won't fit. I may have to test those limits at some
point. :)

If you have an Amazon Locker location
close by (Ada definitely qualifies for me), I'd highly recommend adding
it to your Amazon account's address book. The Locker concept has
a lot of benefits with (as far as I can see) no downsides.

12/02/2012

Book Review - The Complete Idiot's Guide to Twitter Marketing by Brett Petersel and Esther Schindler

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking
that using Twitter to promote your company is easy. Technically, typing
140 characters *is* easy. In reality, you can do far more damage to your
company's image and reputation with Twitter if you don't think things through
and understand how Twitter functions. Esther Schindler and Brett
Petersel do an excellent job of covering that topic in their book The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Twitter Marketing.
From a corporate or organizational angle, you really shouldn't start
your Twitter marketing program without reading this book.

Contents:Part 1 - The Big Picture of Twitter
Marketing: Twitter Marketing Basics; The Rewards of Twitter Done Right;
The Pitfalls of Twitter MarketingPart 2 - Getting Started: Building Blocks
of Using Twitter; Understanding the Twitter Community; What to Tweet; Finding
the Right People to Follow; Building a Twitter Following; The Art of the
HashtagPart 3 - Twitter Marketing Campaigns:
Designing a Successful Twitter Campaign; Logistics of Your Twitter Campaign;
Your Social Media Team and Policies; Monitoring and Analyzing Your Twitter
Campaigns; Tools to Tweet and Monitor CampaignsPart 4 - Tailoring Twitter to Your Business
Needs: How Small Businesses Can Use Twitter; How to Use Twitter in a Retail
Environment; Using Twitter as a Customer Service Tool; Using Twitter for
Business CommunicationsPart 5 - Integrating Twitter into Your
Marketing Mix: Aligning Your Twitter Strategy with Other Online Marketing;
Aligning Twitter with Offline MarketingAppendixes; Glossary; Index

There are a number of things that make
this such a great book. For one, the writing style is highly conversational,
and it feels like you're having a talk with a close friend who is explaining
everything you ever needed to know about Twitter and marketing. The
personalities of the writers come through (can you say "chocolate"?),
and that's a good thing. It removes the barriers that a non-technical
person would hit up against (confusion, boredom, etc). It's actually
a fun read.

Second, there are real-life examples
on every page. It's one thing to go on about how things should work
from a theoretical or methodology perspective. Esther and Brett don't
fall into that trap. Everything that's talked about in the various
chapters is backed up with examples of how various companies have succeeded
and failed (often spectacularly) in the real world. As such, it's
easy to understand *why* you should or shouldn't do something that they
tell you about.

Finally, Brett and Esther go beyond
the "here's what you do technically" information and offer a
comprehensive approach to a complete marketing program with Twitter (hence
the title). You find out what metrics are best to track, why certain
"obvious" measures aren't all they're touted to be (such as number
of followers), and how to structure your Twitter activity to get the best
response and the type of followers you want. There are cases where
organizations have stumbled into a positive and profitable Twitter presence,
but it's far more common that an unplanned or unorganized Twitter program
will fall short of expectations (or will backfire and cause more damage
than if you never ventured into Twitter at all).

I'll admit that I may be biased in that
I've worked with Esther in the past and I've followed her online over the
years. But everything that Brett and Esther cover in this book rings
true based on my experiences and observations. If you're an organization
of *any* size that wants to establish a presence on Twitter, you owe it
to yourself to read The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Twitter Marketing.
It's a small investment that *will* have an immediate payback for
your Twitter marketing efforts.

12/01/2012

Book Review - New York Underground: The Anatomy of a City by Julia Solis

With the recent storm (Sandy) that hit
New York and caused massive flooding, I wondered how all that water that
would affect the various underground infrastructure in the city. Specifically,
what would happen to all those various parts of the subway system and tunnels
that have been closed off and abandoned over the years? Couple that
with my fascination with urban exploration, and this was a logical book
to check out... New
York Underground: The Anatomy of a City
by Julia Solis. While it's not an exhaustive encyclopedia covering
the history of subterranean New York, it does have some interesting information
and great pictures.

Solis has spent plenty of time exploring
what lies below street level in New York, so she's got the "been there,
saw that" experience. The book covers a variety of topics, such
as the subway system, underground utilities, tunnels, and foundations.
Rather than trying to provide a comprehensive account of everything
that's happened from the first dig until now (now being 2004 when the book
was published), she relates the important background and interesting facts
that drove some of her underground exploration. That format provides
a good format for her to share various photographs, both from her own camera
and those taken by others over the years. It's quite easy to get
lost in the images, as they are sights that most people will never see
(or areas that no longer exist). It left me wondering what damage
was done during the storm floods that will never be discovered, or that
will only be discovered when it causes an active portion of the system
to fail.

New
York Underground doesn't take
that long to read, but it's an interesting tour through parts of New York
long since forgotten or abandoned. It made me wonder what other secrets
are still buried...

Want to support this blog or just say thanks?

When you do that, all your purchases during that session earn me an affiliate commission via the Amazon Affiliate program. You don't have to buy the book I linked you to (although I wouldn't complain!). Simply use that as your starting point.